There was a time when it was common for fresh milk to be delivered to your door early in the morning in reusable glass bottles for milk which the milkmen collected again the next day to be cleansed and reused. With the introduction of plastic and the scale and convenience of supermarkets, these daily milk deliveries were often beaten on price and as a result reduced in popularity.

Today, we find milk being packaged in a variety of ways to continue to make the whole process of manufacturing and consumerism more convenient at lower costs, however these are not always the most eco friendly options and often result in end damage to our environment.

However, it’s important to recognise that packaging plays an important role in protecting the fresh milk from outside influences and product deterioration and maintaining its quality and safety.

The types of fresh milk packaging being used are:

1. Paper based packaging – These are cartons made from wax or plastic-coated paper board that can easily be stored in the refrigerator for a little extension of the shelf life of fresh milk. This type of packaging is lightweight and low cost but is susceptible to moisture and tearing.
2. Plastic – In the previous decades, this had become a common container for fresh and pasteurized milk. But plastic containers have some levels of permeability to gases and vapours amongst the environmental influences that can trigger compositional changes in the product. Also, they can be affected by outside temperature, they can either become fragile in the cold or melt in the heat.
3. Metal – These are the aluminium and tin cans used for milk. These are great types of milk packaging in the sense that they are strong, grease-proof and provides a good barrier against external influences. The disadvantage is that aluminium is vulnerable to acid and are also heavy and costly.
4. Wood barrels – Often used for bulk packaging of milk products like condensed milk and buttermilk. Strict standards apply to this kind of packaging to avoid tainting the milk. Plastic or wax coating makes the wood barrel waterproof.
5. Glass bottles – The traditional type of milk packaging, eco friendly milk bottles still great for packaging without risk of contamination once cleaned. Mostly been replaced by plastic and paper-based packaging due to cost reasons, although there are still some dairy manufacturers who continue to use reusable glass bottles for milk.

It is important to note that glass bottles, like metal packaging, provide a nearly absolute barrier against external influences, one issue however is that the shipping and transporting can be a challenge. These glass bottles are usually sealed and covered with an aluminium cap.

Because it is more convenient to ship products in plastic than in eco-friendly milk bottles, milk in plastic packaging is more commonly sold these days compared to reusable glass bottles for milk. But with all the harmful effect of plastic to the environment, we highly encourage that consumers will take a stand to stay away from products with plastic in them, in order not to add to the current plastic problems in the world.

Even though a lot of plastic milk bottles are being produced in HDPE and recycled HDPE (rHDPE), it is still plastic and will one day add to the plastic wastes polluting our planet, as they cannot be recycled indefinitely. Traditional reusable glass bottles for milk are still the wisest choice, safe for the milk and safe for the environment and the clean aluminium cap can be put in your clean recycling bag when you return the eco friendly milk bottles to be reused.

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